Dick Durbin: “I listened carefully to the remarks of my friend and my colleague from Texas. If my friend has a moment as he walks out…”

“I listened carefully to the remarks of my friend and my colleague from Texas. If my friend has a moment as he walks out this door, he should take a sharp left and stop at the staircase and look up. At the top of the staircase the Senator from Texas will see this amazing portrait that has been copied and referred to over and over again. It is an incredible painting that shows President Abraham Lincoln signing the Emancipation Proclamation in the midst of the Civil War while surrounded by his Cabinet. This Emancipation Proclamation freed 3 million slaves in America from involuntary servitude. Was the President signing a bill that had been passed by Congress? No. He was signing an Executive order--the same type of Executive order used by President Obama to address the issue of immigration. All right, Senator Durbin, you found one moment in history. According to arguments you heard on the floor, there could not be very many more. Let's fast forward to the late 1940s with President Harry Truman. President Harry Truman, after World War II, decided to finally end racial discrimination in the ranks of our military. How did he do it? Did he do it by signing a law passed by Congress? No. He signed an Executive order ending the discrimination and segregation taking place in our military. I don't argue that Presidents can exceed their constitutional powers. It has happened.…”